This is it ... the end of Steph, Zip, and Sophia. I want to thank you all for reading and sticking with me on this. I know I bounced back and for between Babe and Tart for a while. I just couldn't make this into a Babe. I want to especially thank you die hard Babes that gave my story a chance and left reviews letting me know. I really appreciate you doing that! It means a lot to me. I hope you have all enjoyed the journey in this story and are happy with the ending. I'll be taking a few days off, but hope to be back with a new chapter of A Needling Desire this weekend.

Epilogue – Two and a half years later …

Stephanie and Zip had decided to buy a house that was halfway between Trenton and Mercerville. They found a nice two story, four bedroom, three and a half bath house with a large fenced in back yard. They had a huge swing set with slides, a rock wall, bridges, a rope to climb, a fireman's pole, and a picnic table installed. She loved playing on it every day and never got bored with it. She would sometimes take her baby dolls out and have a picnic with them.

Zip sat on the bathroom floor watching Sophia play in the water. She loved bathtime and it was his chance to just relax and unwind after work. When the water started to cool down, Sophia looked at him, "Done, Daddy."

"Okay, Princess. Help me let the water out." He put his hand in the water and waited to feel her little hand on his. "Ready? One. Two. Three." On three, he felt her hand push down on his so he pushed the stopper so it would open.

"Yay," squealed Sophia. "Bye bye."

Zip stood up, grabbed the towel, and waited for Sophia to raise her arms. Wrapping the towel around her, he pulled her out of the tub and started drying her off while they said their usual nursery rhyme for after a bath. "I had a little …"

Sophia laughed, "Turtle!"

"His name was …"

"Tiny Tim!"

"I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could …"

"Swim!"

"He drank up all the …"

"Water!"

"He ate up all the …"

"Soap!"

"And now he's sick in bed, with a bubble in his throat!"

"HICCUP!" Sophia laughed.

By the time they finished the rhyme, Sophia was dry and hugging Zip. He carried her into her bedroom to get her dressed for bed. "Okay, Strawberry Shortcake, Blueberry Muffin, or Orange Blossom?" He laid the three nightgowns out for her to pick from.

Sophia carefully looked them all over and Zip had to laugh when she put her finger to her lips and tapped like she was making a hard decision. Finally, she looked at him and said, "Bossom," and plucked the Orange Blossom gown off the bed. She tried putting it on and Zip laughed when he looked at her with it on backwards.

"Come here, Princess, let's get this fixed then we can go see Mommy." Sophia lifts her arms and allows him to help her fix the gown.

As they walk down the hall, Zip reminds her, "Now, remember. Let's be quiet."

"Kay."

Zip opens the bedroom door and Sophia runs in loudly whispering "Mommy."

Stephanie looks over from her rocking chair and smiles. "There's my baby girl. All fresh from the bath, I see."

"I have Bossom on," Sophia said as she pointed to her gown.

"I see that. You look very beautiful."

"I see Drew," she said and climbed up on the footstool.

Carefully leaning over, she looked at her baby brother in her mother's lap. Andrew Ryan was six weeks old and the spitting image of his father. Sophia was so in love with her brother that she was near him any chance she got. If he cried, she ran to him to comfort him and was always giving him kisses.

After letting her give "Drew" kisses, Stephanie gave her a kiss and told her, "I'll see you in the morning, baby girl. I love you."

"Time for bed, Princess," Zip told her as she got down from the footstool.

Sophia shakes her head, "No."

Stephanie looks at her in shock as Zip asks, "What was that?"

Sophia sits on the floor next to Steph, "No sleep."

"Soph, who makes the rules, Princess?"

"Mommy and Daddy."

"Who are you supposed to listen to? Who said it was time to do something?"

"Daddy."

Zip nodded and kneeled next to her trying to keep from looking at a smirking Stephanie. "And who's bedtime, is it?"

Sophia looked Zip right in the eyes and replied, "DADDY'S!" At that point, Stephanie couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zip shook his head, smiled, and picked Sophia up. "Come on little rascal. It's story time."

After Zip had Sophia tucked in bed, he went back to his bedroom and took Andrew from Stephanie. "You go take a shower; I'll get the little guy down for bed."

Stephanie stood and kissed Zip, "Thank you, and I'm sorry for laughing while Sophia was in here."

"It's fine," he replied, "She has your smart mouth. Just be ready for her when she hits teen years." Smacking her ass, he walked away, "I love you, Sweetheart. I'll be back when you are out of the shower."

/\/\/\/\

Pulling into the Rangeman garage, Stephanie looked around and tensed up when she saw a Cayanne with Florida plates in Ranger's spot. "I didn't think he was back in Trenton."

Zip looked where she was looking and sighed, "I've not heard anything about him coming back. He's not been here in two years. Figures he'd pick today to show up." Zip parked and looked at Steph, "Do you want to put this off and go home?"

She thought about it and shook her head, "No, I don't care anymore. He has no control over me or my emotions."

Getting out of the truck, Zip grabbed Andrew's car seat while Stephanie grabbed Sophia and put her down so she could walk. As they reached the elevator, the doors opened revealing Junior and Ram. "Sophie girl," Junior said as he kneeled and opened his arms. When she saw him, she squealed and ran to him. He stood up and put her on his shoulders which caused her to laugh.

Ram hugged Steph and asked, "Are you going to be okay? We didn't know he was coming; he just showed up."

Steph hugged him back and smiled, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Justin and I are happy and there's nothing he can do. He hasn't even asked his parents for any info on Sophia. If he sees her while we are here, then so be it. She will eventually find out who he is."

When they reached the fifth floor, Zip took Andrew to the breakroom and sat his car seat down, pulling him from it. "My Drew," Sophia said as Ram tried to take him from Zip.

Ella walked in and tickled Sophia as she sat on Junior's shoulders. "Lala," Sophia screamed as Ella laughed. Sophia had called Ella Lala from the time she started talking. Ella didn't mind and loved the name.

As Stephanie turned to get a water bottle from the fridge, she saw Ranger standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on his face. "Stephanie, it's good to see you."

"Hi, Ranger." She saw Ranger staring at Sophia and wondered what he would do.

"She's beautiful, Steph." He looked at Zip and nodded, "You two have a child?"

Zip couldn't help the words that came out of his mouth, "We have two children; a daughter and a son."

Ranger, taking the hint, nodded before he walked out of the breakroom and to his office but not before he noticed the matching rings on Stephanie and Zip's fingers. He wondered when they got married … when he had check two years ago, there was no marriage license filed.

Zip, Stephanie, and their children spent a few hours at Rangeman letting the guys all have a chance to catch up with Steph and Sophia and giving everyone time to meet Andrew. Once they went home and the kids were fed and in bed, Steph curled into Zip's side, "I think today went well." Zip agreed. "I love you, Justin Ziprowski."

"I love you, Stephanie Ziprowski. I love our family; this is everything I ever wanted. You and our two kids. I couldn't ask for anything else."

The End!